Hard Decisions
by DrCyrusBortel
Summary: Monster Bash alt-fic. Marco realizes something very, very important during Star's battle with Mina.
1. Chapter 1

This author does not own the Star vs. the Forces of Evil franchise. This story was written for personal amusement.

The point-of-divergence is when Star and Marco realize Ms. Heinous is Meteora Butterfly, daughter of Eclipsa Butterfly…

* * *

Mina Loveberry stood triumphantly over the pathetic figure of Meteora Butterfly as the bastard offspring of the evil queen Eclipsa and her monstrous consort clutched her misshapen arm.

"Well ain't this a pretty picture. First, Eclipsa wakes up, and now look who comes a'cryin. Tech-ni-cal!"

Star's jaw dropped in astonishment as she inspected Ms. Heinous's arm, and then blinked as she parsed Mina's statement.

"Wait… Eclipsa? What does she have to do with this?"

Marco scratched his head. "Yeah, can someone fill us in?"

Mina Loveberry frowned, and pointed at the huge mural of Eclipsa and Meteora that adorned the wall.

"Don't you ding-dongs know anything? She's her mama!"

Marco's eyes opened wide, and his mind raced. "Eclipsa is Heinous's mother? But how? Eclipsa is hundreds of years old! Besides, that would mean Heinous is a… a… princess!"

Star's jaw dropped. "It means… she's a Butterfly."

Mina morphed into warrior mode, brushed aside Heinous's one-eyed henchman, and began advancing on the old woman.

Star lunged forward to protect Ms. Heinous… and fell flat on her face. She turned as she struggled to regain her footing, and a look of shock crossed her face. "MARCO! GET OFF ME!"

There was a scream, a flash, and the room fell oddly silent.

Star kicked her traitorous friend off her, jumped to her feet, and raised her wand at Mina. "Rainbow fist!"

Marco yelled as Mina slammed into a wall. "Mina! Get Gemini and Rasticore… the one-eyed thing and the lizard man! I'll get the monsters!"

"MARCO DIAZ! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Marco ran up to the wooden door. "Guys! Keep your heads down and stay inside until this fight is over! Don't get caught in the crossfire! Are you all here?"

The monsters nodded. Marco tried to grin. "Good." He slammed the door shut, and bolted the door.

He hurled himself into the high-octane magical battle playing out in Meteora's nursery. "Star, STOP NOW!"

"MARCO, STAY BACK!" Marco threw himself at Star, and tackled her to the ground. Marco heard Gemini scream. "STAR! STOP! LET ME EXPLAIN!"

Star pointed as the smoking pile of ashes that had once been Ms. Heinous's torso, and the charred remnants of her severed head. "MARCO! Mina killed Heinous! She'll kill everyone here!"

Marco tried to find the right words. "Star, if Mina doesn't, you'll lose Mewni!"

Star punched Marco in the jaw. "No, no, no… I'll lose Mewni if the monsters who came to my party go home in body bags…"

Ignoring the taste of copper in his mouth, Marco once more threw himself onto the princess. "Star! Heinous is Eclipsa's daughter!"

Star turned to her once-friend. "Exactly! A nice woman lost her daughter tonight, and I'm going to avenge her!"

Rasticore screamed, and Mina floated over to the chamber full of monsters, murder in her eyes.

Star let loose a Warnacorn Stampede, and Mina slammed into the far wall. Rough hands grabbed her wrists, and, turning the tables on her squire, she forced him to the ground, her hands on his throat.

Marco desperately tried to talk. "Heinous has a claim to your throne! Think!" Star's eyes opened wide, and she loosened her grip, even as Mina staggered to her feet.

Star released Marco as the implications of Heinous's ancestry began to set in, and stared at the rapidly cooling cadavers on the nursery floor. "No, no, no…"

Marco grabbed her shoulder. "Star, Eclipsa was Queen before your bloodline – your mom, grandma, whatever… overthrew her and assumed the throne. As Eclipsa's daughter, Heinous… might have just as good a claim to the throne as you do."

Star shook her head in disbelief. "No, no, no, Eclipsa can't be queen, she ran off with an evil monste…"

Star's hopes, dreams, and aspirations fell away as the machinations that had landed her line on the throne suddenly became as clear as crystal. No, not crystal – more like shards of a shattered diamond.

Her bloodline - herself, mom, grandma, great-grandma – had claimed their right to the throne – legitimacy - by proclaiming Eclipsa evil, especially for running away with evil monsters, and thus unfit to rule. _Legitimacy_ wasn't quite as good as actual power, but it helped.

The _power_ to assume the throne had of course been acquired by wheeling and dealing with the feudal lords, especially those with an eye on monster-held lands.

Marco bit his lip as his friend's face fell. "But monsters aren't evil, aren't they? And you said Eclipsa is innocent of being evil until she is pronounced guilty in…"

Star's face turned to stone. "…a fair trial. Due process." Her voice was faint.

Marco exhaled. "And if they find her innocent…"

Star felt a lump in her throat, and tried not to cry. "…does she get her throne back? And can she pick a new heir?"

Star sat onto the floor, her back against the cold stone walls. Marco's heart broke as he saw the look of utter defeat on his friend's face.

Mina, her hands glowing with destructive power, floated up to the room in which Marco had so maliciously imprisoned the monsters – the witnesses. Marco gulped, and Star looked up.

Marco nodded before Star had the opportunity to think.

There was a terrible ghastly silence.

There was a terrible ghastly noise.

There was a terrible ghastly silence.

"Star!" Tom loped down the last flight of stairs. "I heard noise down here, but then it stopped for a while, so I…"

He caught sight of the charred remains of the monsters in the cell. "Oh my... Star! Are you all right?"

"They're all gone. All gone because of me…"

Marco got to his feet. "Tom, get Queen Butterfly. There's been a terrorist attack. Tell the Queen to come in person. We're looking at some pretty nasty magic, so we might need her on point."

Tom frowned. "What's a terrorist attack?"

Marco bit his lip. "An attack by outlaws. An attempt on Star's life. Just… get the Queen." He turned to the monsters he had personally condemned, sighed, and lied through his teeth. "They… got caught in the crossfire."

Tom ran off, and Marco pulled Star to her feet. "Star, I know you're a little shaken because of the _attempt on your life_ , but you need to call your mother. Now."

"Call… Mom."

Marco grabbed Star's phone, and soon began whispering intently into it.

Star walked into what remained of the cell.

She had invited them to the party. She had enthusiastically approved of the location. The fight had been over her future. And she had stood idly by as her squire condemned the monsters to an undeserved death for her security.

Star scooped up a palmful of ashes, and let them flow through her fingers.

So this was what dynasties were built on.


	2. Chapter 2

Star Butterfly stepped out of the horseless carriage into the cool night air. A stiff breeze swept over the weathered battlements of the ancient monster temple, causing the young princess to shiver.

She surveyed the scene before her. Royal guardsmen were everywhere – forming cordons around the mobile command center, processing the surviving party guests, and hauling tarpaulin-covered wheelbarrow-loads of material from the secret chamber in which Meteora Butterfly, her henchmen, and twelve innocents had met their untimely demise.

Star shuddered as she imagined what lay under the tarpaulins.

The wheelbarrow-loads of evidence would probably never see the light of day, and the families of the unfortunate party guests would be denied the closure of burying their remains.

Star shuddered again.

A royal guardsman – Bob, one of her former babysitters – merrily waved to her. Star silently waved back as she finally saw the royal guard for what they really were: Her bloodline's last line of defense against a coup or revolt, theoretically the most loyal soldiers under her mom's command, and the go-to-guys for any muscle work the queen needed done.

Marco stepped out of the horseless carriage, and sat down on the stone floor. He followed Star's gaze to the wheelbarrows. He sighed.

"They didn't deserve this. They had lives to lead, hopes, dreams, aspirations… just like us. Heck, they might not have understood what they heard. I should've… found another way."

Star sat down. "We. We should've found another way."

Marco waved his palms. "No, no, no, Star. I barricaded the door, and I gave Mina the ok. You were going to let 'em go, and I couldn't risk that."

Star slowly shook her head. "I would've nodded." Her voice was a whisper.

Marco stood. "You don't know that, Star! Look, Eclipsa and Meteroa might have had a _legal_ claim to the throne, but as long as Eclipsa's stuck in that tower… she's no threat. She has no power to make good on her claim. The lords, knights and nobles backing your mom weren't going to go over to her just because of a stupid court verdict. Heck, they'd probably have Eclipsa hung the day after. Your mom can wheel and deal with her people, and Eclipsa can't run around organizing a takeover or building up a power base because she's locked in that tower. Even I… I'm worried I overreacted. You trust Eclipsa more than I do, so I'm sure…"

Star slammed her face down onto her hands. "Eclipsa's not locked in her tower. She's been getting around through secret tunnels."

"WHAT!"

"They run throughout the castle and maybe beyond and are hidden behind paintings and open when you say O Captain Permission to Come Aboard and she told me about them one night and convinced me to ignore my sleep-portalling and…"

Marco facepalmed, and dashed back into the horseless carriage that served as the Queen's mobile command center. He came out a minute later, somewhat flustered. Star looked away in shame.

"Your mother's very angry at you, but says she's too busy to talk to you right now. And to be honest, I'm not pleased you didn't volunteer this information earlier."

The look of shattered innocence on Star's face made Marco stop in his tracks. "I thought she was my friend. I thought she was… right. But when you told me about how she could claim her – my - throne at her trial… Well, I put two and two together and…"

"You didn't nod. I did."

Star chuckled. "Oh, Squire Marco. Always trying to protect me from the consequences of my stupid decisions."

Marco thought back to the fiasco with Hekapoo and Star's sleep-portal, and sat down.

"That is kinda my job. And you can't do the dirty work yourself. Middlemen give you 'plausible deniability'. Politicians have been pulling that trick since antiquity."

Star smiled faintly as she remembered better, simpler, times – before Toffee, before Eclipsa, before good monsters, before all this… grey – when her life had revolved around slacking off earth school and beating up Ludo's thugs. "I thought it was that Iraq-Condo thing."

"Iran-Contra. And, no, it goes waaay back. As in 'will no one rid me of this meddlesome priest' kinda back."

Star sighed. "I remember the teacher saying it was a bad thing. Plausible deniability."

Marco frowned. He didn't like where this was going.

"And… Eclipsa's right, isn't she? She wasn't evil. She just got overthrown. Meteora might even be a better princess than me. Half-monster, half-mewman… she'd represent everyone." Star sobbed. "My bloodline's power base was probably all those nobles who wanted to kill monsters and steal their stuff, and justified that by calling 'em evil. Maybe… it still is."

Marco raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected this much clarity from Star, not this soon.

"We're the evil ones, aren't we? My mom, me… we're the bad guys. The ones that lose in those movies and plays." Star closed her eyes.

"You don't know that. Eclipsa might be evil. She's probably evil! We don't know Eclipsa well enough to…"

"Tell me the truth, Marco!"

Marco took a knee. "Look, as your squire, I can tell you that it is not in your interest to believe that. It is in your interest to declare Eclipsa evil. The people – especially the peasantry – need symbols and ideas – the more lofty and idealistic the better - to rally to. They don't need to be right, they just need to _sound convincing_. You need to look strong, confident and _secure_ in order to convince the nobles that they're backing the winning horse, so they won't defect to…"

"Are you even listening to yourself, Marco?" Star was yelling now.

"I'm your squire, Star. I… am duty-bound to look out for your interests. _You must know where your interests lie_!" Marco pleaded.

"No, no, no…"

"STAR! You could get killed in an ouster! Do you want to end up dead like Heinous or crystallized like Eclipsa?! And exile is no fun either!"

"I know what the stakes are, Marco! I've been doing this my whole life! Stop treating me like an ignorant kid!" Star growled.

Star's voice fell soft. "I… I need a friend right now, not a squire."

Marco sat down beside Star.

"Look, Star… governments, rulers… don't have clean hands. Executing policy, staying in power… the dirty work that needs to be done could fill archives. Even in democracies, politicians make deals-a-plenty behind everyone's backs. And wise and benevolent rulers have hands just as dirty as evil ones. If they didn't, they probably wouldn't have stayed in power long."

"We got people killed, Marco! Not outmaneuvered, killed! Just because they were a threat to…"

"Star, dictatorships, executions for treason, arbitrary extrajudicial killings… they were the norm for the overwhelming majority of human history. There's only really been improvement in that area in very limited chunks of the world over the past century." He waved at the ongoing cleanup. "This… is completely acceptable for a medieval-esque state."

"It's still wrong. And I… wanted to be different. I wanted to do the right thing. Maybe I'd enjoy exile. I'd get to be a normal girl, do normal things…"

"Star. Get real. Exile means no more magic, no more servants, no more power, and no more castles. You might not think much of it all now, but people never know how much they miss what they have until it's gone. Plus, remember what happened to Ludo's parents?"

Star nodded. "But… isn't putting aside your interests, and, you know… stepping down for the greater good, living a simple life what the good guys do? So everyone gets a happy ending?"

Marco sighed. "That'd be a textbook idealistic ending, Star."

Star wiped her eyes clean again. "If I can't live up to the ideal… that makes me evil, doesn't it?"

Marco stood. "No, Star. It makes you human – Mewman… that's beside the point"

"What?"

Marco, flustered, continued. "Idealists… ignore human instinct. We're not New Soviet Men. We're not perfectly unbiased intellectually pure… whatevers. We're human. We protect our families first, then our friends, then our communities, and only then our states. We treat friends differently from strangers. We look out for ourselves and our own. It's an instinct of all living things, hardwired by billions of years of evolution, and fighting it… is hard."

Marco paused to take a breath.

"Fighting these instincts might be noble, or good. But following them shouldn't be evil either – to a certain point, of course. Lumping all forms of self-interest together and calling it evil, and expecting zero adherence to self-interest, is just plain inhumane."

"If it's not good, and it's not evil… what is it?" Star asked.

"Morally ambiguous. Understandable. I dunno. Or maybe you could just shrug and not judge. But that's where most of the world is." Marco shrugged.

"What about the innocent monsters? The witnesses?"

Marco averted Star's eyes. "Collateral damage. It happens all the time in wars. We didn't want them dead, they were just at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Marco didn't look convinced, but Star decided not to press the matter. Instead, she turned to the surviving monsters, and nodded at them.

"Where do we go from here? Do we have to… oppress monsters forever? Be slaves to our own self-interest?"

Marco followed Star's gaze. "Can your squire make an observation?"

Star smiled faintly, and nodded.

"Assuming your current line's current power base is the monster-oppressors, there are two paths available to you. You can double down on your power base. That means putting monsters back in their place."

Star frowned.

Marco frowned. "Alternatively, you could pursue a course of reform. Plenty of rulers have followed such courses, and their countries often emerged stronger from it."

"So?"

"Well… I'm spitballing here, but maybe you need to frame the reform in terms of interests, not just convictions and ideals."

"What?"

"Well, back home on Earth, people were once allowed to own slaves."

"Okay. So what?"

"Well, a revolution in industry happened, greatly improving the productivity of the average worker. Slavery became less important in rich, powerful industrialized areas because free men – well, with horrible wages - made better industrial workers. So abolitionists – people who wanted to abolish slavery – were able to achieve their goal because rich, powerful people's interests were no longer threatened by them. Some people – citation needed - say something similar happened in the 1960s, when segregation, a scheme in parts of the US of A to separate white people and black people, was ended. Those people say that factory owners wanted more skilled workers and a greater labor pool to draw from, so they readily complied with new de-segregation legislation – and told their angry white workers that the government was forcing them to do it. Slavery and segregation were bad, by the way, so these were moral victories too."

Star blinked twice. "Uhh…"

"I'm literally pulling this off the top of my head, from history class and a few Wikipedia pages. And I'm not quite sure how we can apply these lessons. But when – if – we continue your reform movement, we need to think in terms of how we can change people's calculation of interests."

Star narrowed her eyes. "We could just kill all the nobles."

Marco rolled his eyes. "If that was possible, your mother would have done something similar already to consolidate and centralize power."

Star sighed. "Stupid private armies. Okay, Marco. We've got the principles nailed down. Now for concrete action plans."

Marco stuck out his hands, and stood. "You know, you should really speak with your mother. I'm pulling this from history class and a couple of Wikipedia pages. You're making real decisions, and you need authoritative sources."

Star crossed her arms. "I'm starting to regret sleeping through those history classes. Give me ideas, Marco! Spitball!"

"Okay, okay!" Marco rubbed his chin. "You've done a lot of foreign policy work with the neighbors, but I'm not quite sure how this helps you domestically. Especially with the feudal lords, which, as you should recall, have private armies that you rely on."

"Tell me something I don't know."

Marco looked thoughtful. "Hmm… foreign policy… foreign policy… if you married Tom, and if he's got a solid base of support from the underworld feudal lords, the underworld feudal lords would probably secure you from any attempted takeover, giving you a freer hand in implementing your project. I presume you two will have no problem producing an heir?"

Star stuck her fingers in her ears. "Lalalalala! Changing the subject!"

* * *

 _Author's note:_

 _Historical facts mentioned have some lines of evidence backing them up, but somewhat squishy. Do not use for homework or essays unless you have better evidence._

 _This author is very uncertain as to the political and economic structure of Mewni, mostly because the show's creators were intellectually lazy in this regard and picked a Shrek-esque fantasy anachronism stew over something with actual world-building rigor._

 _The palace (the décor and Moon's hair) is reminiscent of 18_ _th_ _-century France (in which nobles have nearly no power at all), the townhouses are – this author is uncertain – Tudor England? Middle Ages?, and the economy is 20_ _th_ _-21_ _st_ _century, for whatever reason. The knights, swords, maces and armor are Middle Ages (pre-gunpowder). Post-gunpowder (think English Civil War), the only armor you need is a breastplate and helmet. By "18_ _th_ _-century France", you don't need armor at all, just redcoats, because guns have improved to the point where you don't need pikemen._

 _This author assumes a medieval setting because that's the setting of most fantasy stories, especially ones with magic swords, ladies of the lake, and whatnot._


	3. Chapter 3

The convoy of horseless carriages sped through the muddy dirt roads of Mewni's capital city, splashing through puddles of human waste, piles of garbage, and the detritus of preindustrial urban life. A pedestrian dropped his wheelbarrow, and hurriedly got off the road to let the convoy through, his eyes on the raised crossbow of the man next to the driver.

Marco grimaced as a pile of mud splashed onto the window of Star's coach, and inspected the dirt and rubble that smeared his suit and tie.

He opened the top hatch, and gingerly peered out of the carriage. "You know, Star, if your mother added some iron panels and a cupola for the crossbowman, this thing would make a pretty good armored fighting vehicle. Well, it would get stuck in the mud pretty easily, and I'm not sure whether you can make tracks for the thing."

Star didn't reply.

Marco turned to his friend and master, his voice low. "You still upset about the monsters?"

Star nodded. "I really, really wanted some time with my mother."

Marco sat down. "You know that's not possible, Star."

Standard security procedure was to keep the queen and heir apparent in separate carriages, preferably in separate convoys, to minimize the risk that both would be killed in an attack on the convoy. But it was also necessary… for the plan.

Star nodded. "Yeah, yeah, continuity of government and whatnot."

The carriage's rattling lessened as the convoy sped onto the cobblestone-lined, wealthier part of town. Marco stuck his head out again. The gargantuan, onion-domed turrets of Butterfly Castle loomed ahead.

"How the heck did you people build a thirty-storey tower without concrete and steel? Unless the thing's solid through-and-through, brick and stone don't quite have the necessary structural strength to…"

Star rolled her eyes. "We have concrete, Marco."

"Right. The Romans did too. Still…"

"And magic too."

"You know, that's what I don't like about magic. It doesn't explain anything. How does it do it? Magic. Why does it happen? Magic, it's just magic."

They were all on edge after the secretive meeting in the tavern on the way back.

Star's compact mirror came to life. Her mother's voice echoed through the carriage. "Star! Where are you? Are you home yet?"

"Three minutes from the front door, Mom." Star's voice was flat.

Marco raised an eyebrow. "I didn't expect your mother to give you a role."

Star looked lost. "Neither did I."

* * *

 _The tavern was dirty, smelt of vomit, and lit only by the light of five candles. Marco hesitated as he stepped through the door, Star in tow._

 _Moon Butterfly, Queen of Mewni, turned to face them. In the dim candlelight, Marco could make out the faces of the members of the Magical High Commission and a pair of burly, fur-clad barbarians. Much to Marco's surprise, the Captain of the Guard was absent._

 _A figure stepped out of the shadows, ribbons trailing from her violet hair._

 _"Well look who finally showed up."_

 _Moon nodded. "Star. Mr. Diaz. I trust you understand the importance of absolute secrecy in the success of this… operation."_

 _Marco frowned. "Where's the Captain of the Guard?"_

 _Moon exhaled. "He won't be joining us just yet."_

 _Marco nodded. With potential access to every part of the castle, there was no telling whether Eclipsa had compromised – bribed, subverted, or mind-controlled - the Palace Guard._

 _Star looked around. "Uh… Mom? What exactly is this "operation"?" Marco facepalmed._

 _Moon sighed. "It's the neutralization of Eclipsa. Now, here's your part of the plan." She handed a piece of parchment to Star. Marco wondered whether he could turn a profit by selling Earth paper to the Mewmen._

 _Star frowned. "Force the main gate, denounce Eclipsa's treason, and secure the castle? Mom, Marco has dimensional scissors. I have the all-seeing eye spell. The main gate is a killing zone. Why don't we just…"_

 _Moon glared at her daughter. Marco hurriedly escorted Star away from the table, and grabbed the parchment. "Star. This isn't the whole plan. Listen to your mother."_

 _Moon waved the duo back to the table. "…speed and surprise are essential to the execution of the main phase of the plan. Under the cover of General Loveberry's discreet cordon around the castle, my daughter will personally lead a column into the castle's most obvious and well-guarded point of entry."_

* * *

Marco took a deep breath as the convoy approached the castle gates, taking comfort in the heft of his pair of dimensional scissors. Another column of horseless carriages – undecorated covered wooden wagons – joined the convoy just ahead of the moat.

The combined convoy made it through the potential killing fields of the castle gates unopposed, and stopped in front of a sally-port. A pair of guardsmen marched through the archway, followed by Star, Marco and a troop of guardsmen. Marco shuddered as he carefully inspected the murder-holes on the walls and ceiling of the sally-port, and Star kept a close hand on her wand. Designed to permit the castle's defenders to attack invaders passing through the gateway, the murder-holes would be equally effective in the hands of any supporters Eclipsa might have within the castle.

They made it into the courtyard beyond, and Marco hurriedly rushed Star up the steps to the battlements. Below, dozens of burly, tattooed, fur-clad warriors - barbarian in appearance and manner - marched into the castle. Marco nodded at them. With Star's father King River among their number, the Johansen clan could be counted on for political reliability.

Having been exposed to Eclipsa, the palace guard… might not.

Ahead of them, a senior palace guardswoman exchanged passwords with another who had just arrived with Marco. He furrowed his brow as he inspected the Johansen clansmen below. "What is the meaning of this, Princess Star?"

Star smiled. "Oh! Hey Kevin! Mom just got a little nervous after that attack on me, and wanted a little more muscle watching my back. You were all busy tonight, so she invited some of Dad's family over. I'll show them around."

Star scanned the palace guardsmen. Marco followed her gaze. Star sighed. "So, O Captain. Permission to come aboard?"

The eyes of two guardsmen went wide, and a wall in the corner slid open to reveal a secret passageway.

"Narwhal Blast! Narwhal blast!" Star blasted the two guardsmen off the battlements, where they were set upon by angry Johansen clansmen.

"What on Mewni…" the senior guardswoman staggered backward.

Star addressed the courtyard. "Attention everyone! There is treachery in our midst! The evil witch Eclipsa has used secret passageways to escape her tower, and placed some of our comrades under her wicked spell! She must be found and brought to justice, and her supporters shown the error of their ways! Huzzah!"

Despite the stilted, out-of-character delivery, cheers went up from the courtyard, and echoed through the castle grounds. If Eclipsa had any organized support within the castle, they'd have heard it.

Marco drew his dimensional scissors from his pocket, certain an ambush was at hand. Star gripped her wand tighter.

At that moment, in a darkened hallway, the last of a dozen fiery interdimensional portals slammed shut… right after disgorging a score of Johansen clansmen and a half-dozen hand-picked palace guardsmen deep within the castle.

* * *

 _Moon continued. "My daughter's forced entry, of course, will be but a distraction. As my daughter has so astutely pointed out, we possess dimensional scissors, which we will use to deploy shock troops deep within the castle. If we're lucky, we might even catch Eclipsa napping."_

* * *

The men in the courtyard scattered, and began to filter through the palace. A mixed group of guardsmen and clansmen charged into the secret passageway.

Marco turned to Star, his scissors still shaking in his hands. "Attention everyone? Seriously, Star? You could've said 'loyal subjects' or 'clansmen and guardsmen' or something along those lines."

Star gritted her teeth. "It's my first time doing this, okay? Where's Hekapoo? She was supposed to be here by now!"

Behind them, a pair of scissors tore a glowing, orange, fiery portal through space and time, and Star, Marco and a guardsman hurried through.

They emerged in Eclipsa's Rose Tower. Before them stood a pale-skinned demoness in an orange dress, a crystal-headed, snake-fisted reptile, and a timeless, formless, skull-headed entity.

The Magical High Commission was in play.

Marco noted the open secret passageway, the fur-covered warrior guarding the door, and the crystallized palace guardsmen. No Eclipsa.

Hekapoo walked over to Star, and pointed an accusing finger at the young princess. "You! I knew you were tainted the moment you walked into quarantine! First, you rip holes in spacetime all across the multiverse, and now this? Do you know how much damage she could've…"

Marco stood between the quarrelling duo. "Not now. Where's Moon?"

"Citadel. Star? Your turn" Hekapoo turned to Star, and cut another hole through space-time.

Marco gave Star a nudge, and looked pointedly at Star's wand.

"Oh, right! Step 3: use the all-seeing eye. You know, I still don't understand why we didn't start with this…"

Marco shook his head. "You can see the magic peephole. It would've tipped her off. I still don't know what the point of a spy spell is if the person under surveillance can see it."

Star summoned the All-Seeing Eye, and sighed as she examined the middle-aged woman in the night-robe and fuzzy slippers.

Eclipsa looked back at Star through the peephole, shock and fear in her eyes, as fiery portals popped into existence around her, disgorging the Magical High Commission.

Star expressionlessly closed the peephole.

"Victory."

It certainly didn't feel like one.


End file.
